Follower for trunks.



T. l. MOORE.

FOLLOWER FOR TRUNKS.

APPucATIoN man DEc.2s. |916.

1 ,22,258. v Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

29 wnNEs "l, ,g 36 2 INVENTOR .EL-EJ:- ThunasLlMnny-e., VM @t @www UNTTED sTATEs PATENT OEEIOE.

THOMAS J'. MOORE, OF WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE R. NEUMANN HARDWARE CO., ACORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

EOLLOWER FOR TRUNKS.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.' p

Be it known that I, THOMAs J. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at lVeSteld, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Followers for Trunks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates, generally, to improvements in trunks; and, the present invention has reference, more particularly, to what is termed in the art as followers for wardrobe trunks and anovel supporting and retaining means for securing the follower adjustably within the trunk and against the garments whichV are suspended within the body of the trunk or within the tray of the same.

The present invention has for its principal object to provide for trunks of the class above stated, a novel follower and novel supporting or retaining means therefor, for removably and adjustably maintaining the follower within the body of the trunk or within the tray thereof, with a view of pro-l viding a follower which is pivotally supported and is adapted to be swung into an outward relation to the body of the trunk or its tray, or may be entirely and readily removed, so as to permit of easy access to and removal of a garment or garments, the follower being further adapted for suitable adjustments for tightly and securely pressing the garments, with relation to each other, in their suspended condition within the body or tray of the trunk.

The invention has for its further object, a novel and simply constructed bolt-device or mechanism which can be easily Operated for shooting a bolt or bolts into supporting and retaining engagement with a receiving element or elements, the bolt-device or mechanism being mounted upon the follower,yand receiving element or elements being secured upon the inner faces of the sides of the trunk-body, or upon the inner faces of the sides of the tray thereof.

Other objects of the present invention not at this time more particularly enumerated Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 27, 1917.

Application led December 26, 1916. Serial N o. 138,802.

for, for pivotally and adjustably, as well as' removably supporting the follower within the body of the trunk or within the tray of the same, all of the general character hereinafter more fully set forth; and, the invention consists, furthermore, in the novel arrangements and combinations of the various devices and parts, as well as in the details of the construction of the said parts, all of which will be more fully described in the following speciiication and then finally embodied in the clauses of the claims which are appended to and which form an essential part of the said specification.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of the tray of a trunk and of the follower and its supporting or retaining means, showing one embodiment of the principles of the present invention, illustrating the follower in its.

with the said upper portion of the follower,

the said mechanism being represented in its actuated relation, permitting of the adjustment of the follower within the tray, or of its removal from the tray.

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectional representation taken on line 3 3 in said Fig. 1` with the tray omitted, said view being made on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 4 is a .face view, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of one of the sides of the tray and of one of the bolt-receiving devices attached thereto, and employed in connection with the parts illustrated in Figs. l and 2 of the drawings; and Fig. 5 is a face view, also on an enlarged scale, of a portion of one of the sides of the tray and of one of the pivot-supports, shown in the lower portion of Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the above described views,

to indicate corresponding parts. "v

Referring now to Figs. 1 to inclusive, the reference-character 1 indicates the back, 2 and 3 the longitudinally extending sides, and 4 and the respective ends of any suitably formed tray of a trunk, although it will be clearly evident. that in lieu of the tray, the said reference-characters may also be understood as representing the corresponding members of the trunk-body, or the lid of the said trunk-body.

The reference-character 6 indicates, in general, the follower, which may be of any suitable construction, and in the. present instance the saine comprises an open frame made of laterally extending slats or bars, as 7, 8 and 9, and longitudinally extending slats, as 10, 11 and 12, all of which are suitably secured together by means of rivets, screws, or nails, as 13.

Suitahly secured to the inner faces of the longitudinally extending sides 2 and 3, 'by means of rivets, screws, or nails 14, are suitably formed bolt-receiving devices, as 15, preferably made of sheet-metal.

Each device 15 consists` essentially, of an outwardly extending pocket-like member or portion, as 16, of thegeneral shape in endelevation, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the said member or portion 16 being made with a plurality of bolt-receiving openings, as 17, which are prefer-ably wider at their lower open ends than at their upper closed ends, as indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. T he said member or. portion 16 may also -be provided, if desired, with reinforcing or strengthening, as well as ornamental, ribs or projections 18, as shown. The said member 0r portion 16 is also provided with suitably formed flanges, as 19, which are provided with suitably disposed holes or perforations for the reception of the said rivets, screws, or nails 14, by means of which the said devices 15 are secured in their respective positions upon the said opposite sides 2 and Secured to the said longitudinally extending bars or slats 10, 11 and 12 pf the follower, by means of rivets, screws, or nails, as 20, is a laterally extending plate-like member or bar 21 provided at its respective endportions with bolt-guides, as 22, which may be secured as shown in said Figs. 1 and 2 upon the said bars or slats 10 and 12 by means of rivets, screws, or nails 23. Also suitably secured to the said bar or slat 11, in the proper location, by means of perforated anges, as 24, and rivets, screws, or nails 25, is a box-like element, as 26, provided with a stud-receiving hole or perforation 27 and an elongated guide-slot or opening-.28, the said box-like element 26 being open at its respective ends, as at 29 and 30. Movably disposed within said box-like element 26 and upon the base-plate 31 thereof, with which the said element 26 is preferably provided,

is a bolt-actuating element, as 32, said element having its respective end-portions extending from the respective open ends 29 and 39 of said box-like element 26. A suitably fori'ned spring, as 33, is secured by means of a rivet-post 34 to said bolt-actuating element 32, so as to press said element 32 against the inner surface-portion of the outer part of the element 26, and thereby at the proper time cause a stud or projection, as 35, with which the element 32 is provided, to spring into holding engagement with the stud-receiving hole or perforation 27. Tl said rivet-post is of such length that it projects into and is movably disposed in the elongated guide-slot or opening 2S for the proper guidance of the element 32 within the said box-like element 26. As shown, the lower end-portion of the said element 32 is provided with a suitable fingerpiece 36, and the upper end-portion of said element 32 is preferably made T-shape, as at 37. The oppositely projecting members of said i`shaped element 37 are pro-vided with pivot-posts or pins 33 with which are operatively connected the slotte-d end-portions 40 of a pair of bolt-rods, as 39, said rodsl extendingalong the plate-like member or bar 21, and being pivotally mounted upon said memberl or bar 21 by means of pivotpins or screws 41. The free end-portions 42 of the said bolt-rods extend into and through the bolt-guides 22, as shown, and the said bolt-rods are of sufficient length, so that when the bolt-actuating element 32 is manipulated, the end-portions 42 of the respective bolt-rods 39 can 'be made to enter the openings 17 of the respective devices 15, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, for bringing the upper part of the follower into its retained engagement. or said ends of the bolt-rods 39 may be withdrawn from the said openings 17, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, for adjustment of the follower, or for its entire withdrawal from within the tray or the trunk-body, as may be the case, and as will be clearly evident from'an inspection of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings.

To retain the follower 6 in its pivotally mounted and supported position within the tray or trunk-body, there are secured to the inner faces of the longitudinally extending sides 2 and 3, by means of rivets, screws, or nails 43, suitable pivot-supports, as 44.

Each support 44 consists, essentially, of an outwardly extending pocket-like portion or member, as 45, of the general shape in end-elevation, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the said portion or member 45 being made with a plurality of pivot-receiving Vopenings 46, the lower marginal edgeportions 47 of which provide pivotal rests for Vthe free end-portions 49 o-f a pivot-rod 48 which is suitably secured to the vertical` slats vor members l0, 11 and l2 of the follower by means of rivets, screws, or nails 50, asshown.

Having in the above, in a general manner described the follower' and operating devices connected therewith, to arrange the follower in the tray or trunk-body, all that is necessary is to insert the end-portions 49of the pivot-rod 48 in the desired oppositely located slots or pivot-receiving openings 46 o-f the two supports 44 secured upon the inner faces of the sides 2 and 3, whereby the follower is pivotally supported with relation to the tray or the body of the trunk. By exerting a pressure in an upward direction, upon the finger-piece 36 of the bolt-actuating element 32, against the action of the spring 33, the parts are moved from their relative positions in Fig. l to the positions indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. 'Ihis permits of the upper part of the follower to be moved into the desired position within the tray or trunk-body, so as to be pressed against the garment or garments which are suspended in the tray or trunk-body.

Now, by, exerting in an inward direction, against the action of the spring 33, pressure upon the ngerpiece 36, the stud or projection 35 is withdrawn from the hole or perforation 27 in the box-like element 26, and by a pull upon the nger-piece 36 ina downward direction, the bolt-rods 39 are operated in such a manner, so that their free end-portions 42 will enter the desired oppositely located slots or openings 17 in the bolt-receiving devices 15, as indicated in Fig. l, the follower thus being held by the friction of the parts whenin pressed-in relation upon the garment or garments, as will be clearly evident.

I am fully aware that various changes may be made in the general arrangements and combinations of the several devices and parts, as well as in the details of the construction of the same, without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the foregoing specification. Hence, I do not limit my present invention to the exact arrangements and combinations of the several devices and parts as described in the said specification, nor do I confine myself to the exact details of the construction of the said parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

I claim 1. In combination with the tray or body of a trunk, supporting and bolt-receiving devices mounted within said tray or body, each supporting device comprising an outwardly extending portion provided with a plurality of pivot-receiving openings, and each bolt-receiving device comprising an outwardly extending portion provided with a plurality of lower open-ended receiving openings, a follower adapted to be received within said tray or body, supporting means mounted upon said follower adapted to pivotally engage said slotted supporting fixtures in said tray or body, and bolt-devices also mounted upon said follower adapted to be moved upwardly into said bolt-receiving openings for engagement with said slotted bolt-receiving fixtures in said tray or body.

2. In combination with the tray or body of a trunk, supporting and bolt-receiving devices, each device consisting of a slotted fixture mounted within said tray or body, a follower adapted to be received within said tray or body, supporting means mounted upon said follower adapted to pivotally engage said slotted supporting fixtures in said tray or body, a box-like element also mounted upon said follower, a bolt-actuating member movably disposed within said box-like element and having a portion projecting from said box-like element, and bolt-rods connected with said bolt-actuating member and also pivotally mounted upon said follower, said bolt-rods being adapted to engage the said slotted bolt-receiving fixtures in said tray or body.

3. In combination with the tray or body of a trunk, supporting and bolt-receiving devices, each device consisting of a slotted fixture mounted within said tray or body, a follower adapted to be received within said tray or body, supporting means mounted upon said follower adapted to pivotally eni gage said slotted supporting fixtures in said tray or body, a box-like element also mounted upon said follower, said box-lile element being provided with open end-portions, and being formed also with an elongated opening and a stud-receiving perforation, a boltactuating member movably disposed within said box-like element, said bolt-actuating member having its respective end-portions projecting from the respective open ends of said box-like element, a ingerpiece upon one of the projecting end-portions of said boltactuating member, a stud upon said bolt-actuating member adapted to engage said stud-receiving perforation, 4a spring secured to said bolt-actuating member, a rivet-post for securing said spring to said bolt-actuating member, said rivet-post having a portion extending into and movably arranged inthe elongated opening of said box-like element, and bolt-rods connected with the other projecting end-portion of -said bolt-actuating member, said bolt-rods being also pivotally mounted upon said follower and being adapted to engage the said slotted bolt-receiving fixtures in said tray or body.

4. In combination with the tray or body of a trunk, a bolt-receiving device mounted within said tray or body, said bolt-receiving device comprising an outwardly extending portion provided with a plurality of lower open-ended receiving openings, a follower adapted to be received Within said tray or body, a'boX-like element also mounted upon said follower, und a bolt-device inovzibly connected with relation to Seid box-like eleinent and adapted to be inoved upwardly into Said bolt-receiving openings of' the bolti'eceiving device within said tray or body.

5. In combination ivith the tray or body of i trunk, zi bolt-receiving device mounted Within seid tray or body, said bolt-receiving device comprising :in outwardly extending portion provided ivith it plurality of loiver open-ended receiving openings, a folloiver adapted to be received Within Vsaid 1.5 Y'

wardly into said bolt-receiving openings of 2f;

the Slotted fixture in Said tray or body.

n testimony that I claini the inventionV set forth above l have hereunto Set niy hziiid this 20th dziy of December, 1916.

THOMAS J. MOORE. lVitnesses FREDK C. FRAENTZEL, Fiziion. H. `W. FRAENTZEL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, 'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

